Knight's Act Is Beginning To Wear Thin

Skip Miller

December 12, 1993|By SKIP MILLER Daily Press

Genius comes in all flavors, even one that is ugly and sinister and so finely tuned it dents and wrecks too many things around it. Such is the genius of Bobby Knight. It is time to decide if the triumphs of this genius are worth the consternation of the wreckage.

Knight's genius is his ability to coach basketball. By force of will and a long list of star-quality players, Knight has made Indiana one of the top college programs in the country. A look at how he coaches is like watching footage of a train wreck. Here's Bobby Knight clapping and encouraging his players. Here's Bobby Knight calling timeout. Here's Bobby Knight, the sleeves of his trademark sweater pushed past the elbows, screaming at players, officials, fans. Here's the derailment.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Monday, December 13, 1993.In Skip Miller's column in Sunday's Sports section, Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight's son was referred to as Chris. His name is Pat.

The most recent wreck involved Knight's son, Chris, one of the Hoosiers' reserves. Knight screamed at his son - some say he kicked him - and then screamed at the fans who booed him. For that outburst, the university suspended Knight for one game. Knight's reaction was to release a statement. He acknowledged past mistakes but attached the caveat that to err ``doesn't make me any different from most of you.''

Bet me on that, coach. Most of us work hard to recognize our mistakes, accept the invariable criticism, and then work hard to make sure we don't make the same mistake again.

There are times all fathers lose their tempers when dealing with their sons. And there are times when all fathers owe their sons a public apology. The message you released before Friday night's game against Tennessee Tech should have included such an apology. Fans, reporters, and other players come and go. But your son is forever.

Knight's genius has two flaws. He loathes being questioned, and his curious idea of perfection makes people dispensable.

Knight's press conferences are street fights because he believes all reporters are unnecessary life forms who have no right to ask questions. ``Absolute silence - that's the one thing a sportswriter can quote accurately,'' Knight once said.

Sure. Absolute silence is the one quote Knight can offer without clenched jaw, angry glare, and a curse of some kind.

Somewhere along the way to his genius status, Knight forgot college basketball is supposed to be fun. It is a game, played by kids. There is another coach of genius status. His name is Dean Smith and his employer is the University of North Carolina. ``If you make every game a life-and-death proposition, you're going to have problems,'' Smith once said. ``For one thing, you'll be dead a lot.''

Set the goals as high as possible, never compromise the standards, and ask each player to reach for the ceiling of his potential. That is a fundamental coaching philosophy. So is allowing yourself to be pleased by the effort.

Bobby Knight is never pleased. He always looks like a very unhappy man. Most of the time he acts like a bully who expects all before him to cower and do his bidding.

It's doubtful a one-game suspension will serve as any kind of a wakeup call. Bobby Knight is not the kind of man who will be so easily put off. His flavor of genius is not so easily flagged.

For his flavor of genius, there is no happy ending. It simply reaches a point of intolerance. A point where his won-lost record is no longer enough tinsel to keep the wreckage from view. When that happens, Bobby Knight will be asked to pay the piper.